Wednesday, April 21, 2010

My kids are still a bit worried about whether Zeds are real. They are slowly getting over it but they still occasionally use the buddy system at night if they need to go outside or into a closet etc..
They really worry about Z-day and the coming epidemic. I'm sure there are tons of people who have the same worries. After all, there are tons of people who worry about UFOs and aliens, why not Zeds? By the way, I myself believe in both Zeds and UFOs.

Making this observation I have started to have worries of my own. What if Z-day really comes? Living in Texas, a potential Z-day presents problems that most people across the country simply do not have to consider. I mean, well, for instance, what if we run out of Zeds before I get my fair share? I mean think about it. I'd say at least 40 to 50% of the people I know are very similar in mindset to the Zombieland character Tallahassee. Then at least another 10% or better are going to be way beyond that. I mean way off the charts. Now, to that you add the vast resources of destructive toys laying around in abundance in this State and you have some serious Zed killing competition. Have you ever seen a parking lot in Texas? It's 90% trucks of pick up size or larger, and usually larger. Duallys and 4WDs are the norm. Hunting and drinking beer is the national past time so there is no shortage of weapons or the inebriated state of mind particularly conducive for Zed hunting. ATV's and chainsaws are pretty much house hold items as well which works out pretty good on Z-day.

With a shortage of Zeds, tempers are bound to flare and then who knows what kind of chaos will ensue. So then it will just be a matter of time before the State government will probably step in and require Zed tags in order to boost their budgets. They never miss an opportunity to do a money grab.

So in the end when the smoke clears, we will be left with a shortage of Zeds and higher taxes. This is what I worry about the most when pondering Z-day.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

A bunch of little kids carrying torches and pitchforks mobbed my garage this morning and demanded to play ATZ. What else could I do? So Nick and all his little hooligan friends decided to play a early epidemic city game with all Rep 3 characters and no weapons. So off to the Zed chow line we go!

The lineup: We had a bunch of kids going in and out of the game today and some just spectated. I got most of the major players here.

The starting positions. The kids ran out towards the tanker truck and quickly found Zeds all around them.

As we are all Rep 3, it doesn't take long for the Zeds to become a threat.

The bozo brigade gets their butts in gear in the nick of time with a huge mob of Zeds right on their heals. There is no room for error here.

Then luck turns their way and they leave the Zeds in the dust. Once in the clear the boys start sniffing around for keys. No matter how many times they play this game and get eaten, they simply cannot get away from the allure of vehicles!

Well, we did it again. The group gets caught and a couple of Zeds go down along with Dad. My rolling was awful all morning as you shall soon see.

While Dad is getting whooped, a couple of Cops named Bill and Ted come out of the station to try to start clearing the city of Zeds. They take a look around and are not feeling so good.

The boys, with Zeds in hot pursuit, decide to scamper up a nearby truck to gain some safety from the Zeds.

This was an error, I should have moved the Zeds to feast on Dad's corpse. I corrected this after the pic was taken. On the right, you'll see a new character coming out of the red warehouse. That is a long legged red head played by Dad. Also Rep 3 no weapon. The streets are filling up fast.

Bill and Ted are scared and confused and not sure what to do. They better decide quick because the Zeds know what they are about!

Nick has the great idea of climbing through the building upper story window to escape. One problem; there is no ledge on the inside so it will require a risky jump. Oh yes, and the building has caught fire! If they decide to enter the building anyway, there will be a risk that it will collapse if another fire event happens. With three activation die in play, this chance is not so far fetched.

Nick and Caleb decide to risk the building and they make the jump okay. No new Zds are generated but some existing ones are milling around in there.

The youngest player, Carter, decided that the others are nuts and he decided to strike off alone. You can see him just squeezing under the rear of the trailer.

Meanwhile, Dad is assaulting the Zed Sheriff and takes him down and grabs the gun from the holster. Just what we needed, a crazed red head with a gun!

Back to Nick and Caleb who have managed to find trouble in the warehouse office. Nick takes down a Zed but Caleb falls.

Dad fires twice at point blank range and misses, and runs out of ammo, then runs off to hide! Pathetic.

Clever little Carter has squeezed past the building and is off like a shot. The shambling mob of Zeds is none the wiser.

Caleb has come back as another character and immediately heads for the infamous silver porsche convertible!

Bill and Ted the cops have decided to run back into the station and start taking pot shots from the windows. They start dropping some Zeds but they are attracting attention fast.

Nick, Carter, and Caleb are all back in the same neighborhood again.

After a random occurrence of having the wrong ammo packed for the gun, Dad is forced to "pop the weasel" on this Zed by melee means. And he fails! I'm telling you, my die have been evil today. Fortunately when the Zed activated and attacked, I managed to down it.

Lots of Zeds and the feasting continues.

Zounds of Zeds are congregating on the police station and Bill and Ted are shooting away at them.

Nick and Carter head off down the street at full tilt while Caleb keeps on trying to hot wire the Porsche.

The police station has turned into the Alamo and the Zeds are beating on the doors hard now.

It is a good thing that a lot of Zeds are still tied up with feasting.

Nick and Carter are approaching the gun shop! And there's Caleb far behind. He finally lost his nerve and decided to catch up.

Yum! Yum! Brrrraaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiins!!!

Dad has managed to sneak around the back way to the heli pad. Whats this? It seems that there are Zeds pounding on the back doors to the police station too! And the doors just gave way!

Doh! And the front door just gave way too. I think Bill and Ted are in trouble..

Yep. Despite the many Zeds they have dropped this day, Ted goes down in melee. Bill is still standing but he will soon have Zeds at his back as well. Dad is at the helicopter now where he finds a pistol.

The Zeds activate first and swarm all over poor Bill and one is coming close to hitting Dad in the back.

Meanwhile the boys have made it into the Gun Shop where they find a couple of Civs. They talk the talk and manage to get them to join the group.

Back to Dad. He caps the approaching Zed with his new found pistol and takes off like a rocket.

The feasts are starting to break up.

The boys head upstairs at the gun shop where they cap a Zed and soon after wards find some supplies. Carter scores a pistol and the others find food and tobacco. Outside, Dad is still working his way along the perimeter.

The shooting is attracting Zeds which might prove to be an inconvenience to Dad.

Dad decides that all that shooting is unhealthy. He decides to split while he's ahead.

Soon after, the boys decide to follow suit and come out the back door with guns blazing.

By this time they have attracted a fair number of Zeds and they decide to go. Here's the rear guard right before the dash off board.

The survivors. Dad and Caleb went up a Rep, but keep in mind their first characters died. The two NPC's only joined for this mission but made it off alive.

Overall this was a very tame game by our standards but all in all it was well played by the kids especially when you consider that everyone was Rep 3 with no weapons. But good play usually means less excitement than boneheaded play. The kids are really getting this game down when they play well with low reps so I think it is time to set them on a harder path. I think heading into post apoc is in order!

Some nuttiness followed the game out in the yard today. I posted the story at THW and I'll copy it here as well. We got a good laugh out of it.

All the neighborhood kids were here playing ATZ today and after the games the
kids started running around the yard playing "Zombies". It wasn't long before
they decided to play ATZ for real. One kid would run the game and the dice.
One kid would be the survivor and have to reach a certain location. The Zeds
(all the other kids) would be placed after the first move and then activation as
normal. Inches were turned into paces and when a combat needed to be fought
they settled it with boxing gloves until one went down to the ground. A couple
of my Redneck neighbors came out and we just drank beer, laughed, reffed the
matches, and confiscated illegal weapons as they "mysteriously appeared". All
in all it was great fun!
LTL Dad

Saturday, April 10, 2010

It looks like the ex-Soviet region of Elbonia is fast becoming a hotbed for would be crime syndicates. Once again we take you to a small town in the region where the famous international crime boss Dr. Eevil has kidnapped a famous scientist, Dr. Alfred Zweikiesel. Zweikiesel is known for his astoundingly successful experiments in reanimation and his work has attracted much worldwide attention as a possible weapon of mass destruction. So now you know why Dr. Eevil is so eager to get his hands on this technology. In recent months there have been numerous incidents with mindless brain eating mutations all over Elbonia. After failing to stem the tide on their own, the Elbonian government had no choice but to go to their old nemesis for help. Spetnaz "advisors" have been sent in to help eliminate the threat.

The Elbonian village where it is suspected that Dr. Zweikiesel is being held. Dark shapes are shambling around the streets. This is going to be a night mission with low visibility.

Team Alpha commanded by Jil. Comprised of four Rep5 Spetnaz advisors and eight Rep3 Elbonian guards.

Approaching stealthily in the dead of night, the teams close on the dark and quiet village. At first contact one of Jil's team leaders takes down a thug but return fire drops the advisor OOF. This starts the ball rolling. One squad advances and makes it to the building.

Meanwhile, Nick is carefully approaching on the right and has made it to a secure position undetected. One of his groups are climbing the ladder of the building.

Back on Jil's side we see his lads tossing grenades on the building and smoking out the rats. His squads are moving up. And so are the Zeds! The noise is starting to attract them.

A short while later Jil sends a squad streaking across the street but they are caught in a tremendous volley of fire from the roof top of the building across the street. This squad is shot to pieces with one survivor ducked back.

Jil's squad on the right is then assaulted by Zeds but his boys take them out, no problemo.

The shattered squad is now providing lunch for a mob of Zeds. Well, at least it will keep the Zeds busy for a while.

After finishing off the Zeds, Jil's right hand squad continues their advance and draws fire from a second story floor of the building across the way. They return fire and kill a thug.

Immediately afterwards, Nick's squad who has made it to the roof top, throws down a grenade and then goes in to clean up. A perfectly executed joint attack.

Back on the left, another coalition strike squad attempts to push it's way forward but they are shot to pieces. The entire squad is shattered. Those thugs in the building are going to be tough to dig out.

Jil's center squad cleans up the survivors of their grenade assault and secures the building. Now to deal with the thugs across the street. In a coordinated attack between both commanders they manage to take down the thug stronghold across the street.

On the right, Nick's assault is going pretty well. Between grenades and over watch fire they manage to neutralize an enemy position with only a couple of casualties.

Sensing disaster, Dr. Eevil and his assistants start jumping ship. Out they come with Dr. Zweikiesel as a human shield. The coalition isn't letting him get away, they open up anyway and more casualties on both sides. Luckily the Doc isn't hit.

Dr. Eevil is running short on henchmen. He's even lost his beloved cocktail waitress. The coalition is closing in fast.

Nick's squads are kept busy clearing Zeds. And more Zeds. And more Zeds.

Dr. Eevil is making a break for it! Someone stop him fast!

As Dr. Eevil makes for the escape vehicle with his remaining crew he is joined by his last two henchmen who are already in a firefight with Nick's advanced elements. They are trading kills.

They make it to the truck! Dr. Eevil and Zweikiesler get inside and the others in the bed. The firefight continues and Nick's squad leader goes down!

And then one of Jil's sneaky Russians takes a shot with an RPG. He misses but kills one thug. Hey wait a minute!!! Don't these bozos realize that the hostage is in there!? The Commandant is not going to be happy if they blow Zweikiesler to oblivion.

As the coalition closes in and the firefight continues, the battle starts to go against the crime Lord. His henchmen are down or cowering as the truck takes off with squealing tires for a last bid for freedom.

The hero of the day! This Elbonian Guardsman has gunned down some thugs this day. Who'd have thunk it?

The truck takes off and is almost free when Nick's RPG man lets loose a rocket. The truck crashes and Dr. Eevil and Dr. Zweikiesler both go OOF. Well, they didn't get away, and the Dr. isn't dead, but what are the big shots gonna say about this operation?

The survivors of Alpha Team.

The survivors of Bravo Team.

Dr. Eevils gang. All went OD or OOF.

This was a fun little throw together that we put on at the local game shop again this weekend. It took about two hours to play. Nick and his friends are nagging to play ATZ this afternoon so I may have another batrep coming soon :)

What Miniatures Gaming is All About:

This quote was taken from a brilliant post by John Paul on the THW yahoo group.This is exactly what this hobby is all about!

The first time a new kid comes to game:

What? There's no screen? How do you... You mean I have to face my opponent and even have to talk to them. (You got a nice house here.)Heh.... What's that? Dice? How quaint. (Sure, I'll take a Coke.) Coollittle figures. You know, I've heard about army men from movies... YOU PAINT THEM YOURSELF?! (You do a good job, I could never do that.) Nice dollhouses. Hey, can I bring my Hot Wheels?

No No Go left!I think we should run through the house. (Yea, my teacher said the same thing in my class. Who do you have?) Cool, I want to loot the body... YEA! I got a shotgun. (I'd say the scene with Shelob was the scariest.) Wow, I almost died. Thanks for saving me. Why are you laughing. No, You can't have my shotgun. I guess with that pistol aimed at my face, you are going to get that shotgun. Just watch your back. (Well, my favorite show is in an hour, but I can record it. No, I'll stay.) How come we shoot the zombies up and we always get more and Jake is beating them with a baseball bat and he gets none? (Stop throwing popcorn at me...Steve...[giggle]...Don't do it Steve... [giggle-haahaaa]) Is that a grenade? OOOHH. How did I know you werein the explosion's spread.... Do I have enough room to scoot over and pick up the shotgun from his mangled body? How many more zombies did that bring in? (You got great parents. I didn't know you could play this with them.) Awesome. I just became zombie chow!

Well, that was cool! er... do you... when do you play this again? (You guys are cool to hang around with.)Can I get one of those miniatures with a shotgun.I love shotguns! Can you paint it for me? You'll show me how to paint it? Cool!

What really happens to youth when they venture forth from Video Games andget sucked into the dark vortex of wargaming. : )

John Paul

About Me

I figured it was time to change my profile as I have completely evolved as a gamer the past couple of years. I no longer describe myself as "avid" but just plain sick. Ever since getting into skirmish gaming things in my miniatures world have been just plain awesome. Glancing through my blog you will quickly figure out that I love it all; any period, any scale, and there is no telling what you will find here from day to day. My kids and their friends like to play and even my Wife will game from time to time which is kind of the ultimate achievement for any gamer. I'm blessed with fellow gamers in the Houston area which are as fanatic as myself and our biggest problem is not when we will play, but what we will play. You can find me knocking about many miniatures related sites around the web as Veloci, Sturmflieger, or LTL Dad.